Following a high-profile incident at an overhead water tank in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, where a man climbed the tank, made strange demands, and refused to descend for more than 12 hours, two people are hospitalized. He shoved two locals off the tank after they were ordered to bring him down. They had a hard landing and were hospitalized for their wounds.
A man scaled the water tank on the grounds of the Hardoi station early yesterday. He began hurling stones at onlookers later in the day. When officers from the Railway Protection Force arrived and asked the man to descend, he refused. He began throwing stones at the officers as they attempted to climb, forcing them to call off the plan.
Firefighters were called in and tried to convince the man to come down. That did not work either and he was still there in the evening. During this time, the man asked for chicken, liquor and cash. He was provided food and also offered money, but he did not come down. The GRP eventually sent two local residents to bring him down, but soon after they caught the man, he pushed them, sending them flying off the tank. The three are now in hospital.
Subsequently, railroad police ascended and removed the man. He identified himself to the media at the hospital as Aditya Mahato, a native of Bihar. When asked why he climbed the tank, he replied that he was trying to get away from a goon who was chasing him. He gave no explanation as to who or why he was being pursued.
The decision by the Railways authorities to dispatch locals to apprehend the man has drawn criticism. One of the people hurt in the incident, Ramji Gupta, told the media that GRP officers asked them to get up on the tank and help the man down.
Senior officer Nripendra Kumar described the man who climbed the tank as “mentally ill”. “Two people went to bring him down, and fell off the tank. They have suffered minor injuries,” the officer said.